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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27209020">Tu es, ergo sum</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/redroseinsanity/pseuds/redroseinsanity'>redroseinsanity</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Hold your breath, count to ten [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Afterlife Shenanigans, Fluff, M/M, Mild Gore, Started out writing a horror story and it ended up as a love story, That's the power of iwaoi, They may be dead but their romance sure ain't, welp</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 18:47:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,371</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27209020</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/redroseinsanity/pseuds/redroseinsanity</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>Tu es, ergo sum - You are, therefore I am</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Hajime had not been expecting to manage hell after death. </p><p>Or: The occupational hazards of loving Oikawa Tooru</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Hold your breath, count to ten [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1980692</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>72</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Angst_Drama_Horror, Haikyuu Horror Week</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Tu es, ergo sum</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For Haikyuu Horror Week 2020!</p><p>This is my first time writing horror so I’m excited but also apologetic if this is not on par with your expectations. In that vein, I’m not sure if I’m tagging this as well as I should be, so if at any point you feel like you want to nope out, please do!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Day 7:</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>a little party never killed nobody / <strike>don’t scare them</strike> / a mouth full of knives /come out and play / <strike>two on two</strike> / this is my idea of fun</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>The string quartet plays a lively tune that fades into background noise as the guests mingle. It's a sea of silky dresses, wool shawls and high heels, three piece suits and cravats, coiffed hair and thick, dark lashes. The marble pillars stretch up into arches that support the high ceilings and crystal chandeliers. </p><p>This is glamour and all its trappings, in the gloss of the polished floor and the perfumed air, the lush velvet curtains and the collection of art spread across the room and along the walls.</p><p>But as the evening wears on, it's easy to pick up on the minute slips, the cracks in this exterior. </p><p>The champagne is, on closer inspection not pale gold and sparkling in flutes, rather it goes flat almost immediately and sits dully, both in the glass and on the tongue. A bead of sweat arcs down a young woman's temple even as she forges on in a conversation with another guest, and her hands shake slightly though she clasps them in front of her. </p><p>In fact, most conversations seem tense and artificially hushed, as though afraid to rise above the music or to be heard at all. Lined eyes, hooded by smokey lids dart around and carry an anxious urgency as they examine the crowd. </p><p>The exquisite chandelier that drips from the ceiling, is not simply comprised of cut crystal. On closer inspection, each piece has a figure embossed on it, in the likeness of a human within the clear rock. And each is bent in agony, the tiny faces of every individual twisted for all eternity. </p><p>A clear, bell-like sound draws the crowd's attention to a tall figure. His cheekbones are immaculate, fair skin and long lashes that frame sharp eyes with crimson irises. </p><p>He's stunning, he's terrifying and he's the love of Hajime's life. Or afterlife, in this case. </p><p>"Good evening, everyone," Oikawa croons from where he stands midway up the spiral staircase in gothic style. There's no microphone, but Oikawa doesn't need one, nor does he raise his voice. The satin smooth tone reaches every ear without any strain on his part. </p><p>"I'm sure you all know why you're here," Oikawa smiles and it's a predatory one, revealing rows of gleaming sharp teeth, "You've all been very naughty in the living realm, haven't you?"</p><p>The unease in the crowd grows exponentially as they shuffle and eye each other with extreme mistrust. </p><p>"We all like the illusion of choice, of free will," Oikawa's expression is benevolent and it sends a tiny shudder down Hajime's spine, "So I'm playing a little game to make sure you know the consequences of your actions up there."</p><p>"I'll give you a thirty second headstart," Voice sickly sweet, eyes glinting dangerously, Oikawa drops the smile and instantly becomes the stuff of nightmares, "<em>Run</em>."</p><p>Hajime hadn't planned on managing sinners when he died, but he hadn't planned on falling for Oikawa Tooru when he'd been alive either. </p><p>
  <em>Hajime doesn't remember dying but he does remember a panel of people in white asking him where he wants to go from here. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Do you-" A pause, "Do you know where Oikawa Tooru is?" He asked, watching the way none of their expressions changed even the slightest, as though they'd been expecting it. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"We do," One spoke, or maybe all of them did, their voices melding into a single sound. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Then that's where I'd like to go," He said firmly, no hesitation this time, "To him."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The first thing he says when he sees Oikawa Tooru is: "Of course, you're the idiot running hell."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Iwa chan!" Oikawa gasped, pouting slightly although his expression belied a happiness that couldn't be hidden, "Were you a bad boy after I left?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"No, you couldn't have been," Oikawa's unfamiliar eyes narrowed, "What are you doing here then?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You're here, dumbass, that's why," Hajime said and watched the light blossom all over Oikawa's face, sharpened and not quite human. He's not quite the same Tooru that Hajime has memorised, but then again, he can't seem to feel very alarmed by this change. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Don't you want to rest or, I don't know, chill out with some angels? I know you can," Oikawa asked lightly, but Hajime could see the trepidation in his eyes. No matter what colour they were, he'd be able to read them. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I don't really care about heaven or hell," He took a single step closer, "You're here, now so am I."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And it was like Oikawa had never been more radiant. </em>
</p><p>Hajime didn't think it would be like this, racing in the cool dark air as the wind whips through Oikawa's hair and his eyes gleam in the dark. He watches the competitive edge push Oikawa to go faster, the burst of colour in his cheeks and the easy confidence that infuses every movement in a way that had never seemed so natural before. </p><p>The others in their team have split up, hunters chasing prey, but not the two of them. They've always been a team, on the court and off it, so why stop now? </p><p>They find one, corner him in the garden as he blabbers for ill-deserved mercy and a multitude of things he doesn't begin to deserve. </p><p>"You're scared now?" Oikawa seems to have grown taller, more intimidating, or the man is shrinking desperately; Hajime knows he's also cutting an impressive figure but he's nowhere as beautifully monstrous as Oikawa, "What about when you were causing emotional and physical harm to people who were smaller than you, less privileged than you? Who needed your help?" </p><p>"After this, you'll probably reincarnate as something vile like a cockroach," Oikawa leans in and his smile is cruel, "But now, I'm going to make you beg to become a cockroach."</p><p>The man opens his mouth to argue or to plead, but his tongue falls straight out and for a split second he just stares at it, disbelieving and unable to comprehend. </p><p>Then he begins screaming, clawing at his bloodied mouth as the pink muscle on the ground writhes like a lizard's shed tail.</p><p>"For your caustic words," Oikawa's expression is stone-cold now, an eye for an eye is what he's here for, or in Oikawa's case, he's about to pay this man back tenfold. </p><p>"You went around touching and taking a lot of things that weren't yours, people that weren't yours too," Hajime growls as the knowledge fills his mind and even before he finishes speaking, the man is shrieking even louder, cradling his hands. </p><p>From the surface of his palms, tiny wisps of smoke emerge. Hajime watches in satisfaction as the skin blisters and peels only to heal and begin blistering again, the bubbles pushing up under red skin and giving way to raw flesh. </p><p>"Don't worry, you won't die!" Oikawa trills cheerily, "You're going to be awake and conscious for every moment of this."</p><p>And the man screams again. </p><p>It takes them a while to give this man his comeuppance and to send him on his way to the next level of hell, but Hajime doesn't mind. They have all the time in the world and it's not as though anyone is getting out of here. </p><p>That's the beauty of it, they have all the time in the world and he has Oikawa by his side. </p><p>Standing in the middle of a large garden, resplendent from a job well done, shining with anger and brimming with justice, Oikawa is more vivid than he had been in life and Hajime can't help but love him more. </p><p>He can't help but think<em>, I could do this for a long time</em>.  </p><p>"Doing okay?" Oikawa asks, as he does from time to time, and Hajime knows he's not just referring to this case or even this round. He should be surprised by his answer, but he really isn’t, not when Oikawa is next to him, eyes bright and carefree, smile wide and genuine. Not what Oikawa is here, close enough to touch, to hold. </p><p>"Yeah," Hajime says with a grin, "Race you to the next one? </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I should also be posting concurrently on <a href="https://redroseinsanity.tumblr.com/">tumblr</a> as well. Come say hi!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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